


Through the Course of War

by buckymalik



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Not A Fix-It, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, tags will be added as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-08 09:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11643609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckymalik/pseuds/buckymalik
Summary: In which Rhodey Stark comes from the future and ends up being an overprotective granddaughter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Syzygy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11425077) by [Wix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wix/pseuds/Wix). 



The air was always thick with never-ending tension, since the rogue Avengers were pardoned. The first thing Steve did, after helping everyone get settled back into the mansion, was go to Tony. He went to the mechanic with a genuine smile and as he was just about to announce how happy and relieved he was to be back and see Tony again, the man in question simply turned away, bringing a coffee mug to his lips and headed towards the elevator that, no doubt, lead to his lab.

Bucky was back in Wakanda, still sleeping years away. Maybe it's for the best. That way Steve can at least try and mend things with Tony. But he would soon realize that making up with the genius would not be as easy as he initially planned. Steve would grab a snack of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee, thinking of the old days, before the accords. He thought of how Tony always forgot to eat whenever he was too busy working on a new suit. But every time Steve took the elevator down to the lab he knew Tony would always be in, he was always met with firm metal doors that never seemed to budge.

Steve lifted a hand up, while his other was still holding onto the tray of snacks, and as he was about knock politely, Friday's voice came in through the speakers.

"You are not authorized to access Boss's lab." Her tone robotic, as if she were stating facts.

"S-Ah, okay...Friday," Steve replied, dropping his arm to his side, and staring down at the tray in embarrassment. "I'll just, I'll just...uh, go." Steve walked back into the elevator, still staring at the tray in his hands, feeling hurt. Tony was refusing to see him now, and Steve was pretty certain it had nothing to do with the dark chocolate cake he was bringing—scratch that—Steve _knew_ it was all him. It was because Tony felt uncomfortable around him. It was because of 'Civil War', as the public were calling their little argument over the accords. Although, it could hardly be called an argument, property was destroyed, buildings, and Steve could only guess who payed for it.

 _Hint: it was Tony_.

Rhodey loved reminding them all of that over the video call, when they first came arrived. He was genuinely thrilled to rub that in their faces. Steve was just glad that Rhodey wasn't there in person to criticize their actions, Steve heard all about what had happened from Sam, after rescuing his team from the Raft. He made no move to comment on it, couldn't.

Steve wasn't the only one trying to gain Tony's attention. Clint tried to, except his intentions were more malicious than Steve's. And Steve knew when Clint was wandering around, he should've ended it, told the archer to stop, but couldn't seem to. He hoped that if anyone can reach and get to Tony, it would be Clint, mostly because they got along so well before the accords.

One day, Clint sneaked through the vents, but screamed in pain. The vents _coincidentally_ broke, causing the archer to fall to the ground, and when the team arrived, they were horrified to find him all burnt, his blonde hair sticking up at all angles.

"You are not authorized to enter Boss's lab," Friday repeated, her voice once such a chipper Irish tone, but was now cold and detached.

Steve thought, Clint got the message. They  _all_  did.

Except you, he thought to himself.

And Natasha it seems. It was one of those rare blue moons where the team caught Tony out of his lab, the young kid they recognize from the airport in Germany, following him around like a lost puppy. Which he isn't. Not really. The kid seemed pretty confident with his space in the Avengers mansion. Granted, it took some time to get used to another Avenger. The kid ignored the team, much like the genius, although he did seem to get really excited when Steve had approached him to ask about Tony, which the kid replied, "Mr. Stark is, uh, he's in his lab, working on really cool projects." which Wanda scoffed at, but didn't say anything, nothing they already knew, anyway.

Natasha was all extra smiles and even made a Russian dish, that Steve won't bother pronouncing, in records time.

They all knew why.

Natasha smiled gently, and with grace of a ballerina, she went over to Tony with a steaming hot plate of mouthwatering food. "I hear you're not eating as much," she says with that devastatingly beautiful smile of hers, and then lifts the plate and offers it to Tony, the beguiling steam and scent of the hot dish certainly in the older man's face. Tony stares at it for a long time before accepting the plate, and he gives a million watt smile. Natasha seemed to relax slightly, her smile turning more genuine.

Steve feels like he can die an old, happy man. Tony is finally coming around. Steve wants to push his chair back, get up from the dining table, and interrupt the moment, just to hug Tony, and welcome him back to the family.

"Here, Peter."

The kid takes the plate, looking more than happy to be presented with something Tony gave him, be it an idea, upgrades for the web-shooters and—now—food. Tony doesn't bother sparing Natasha a look, as he makes his away around the spy to get his favorite snacks, Peter trailing behind him the whole time.

Clint is practically shaking in his seat with anger, and Wanda is just glaring holes into the back of Tony's skull, not that he notices or cares, mind you. He's far too busy looking at a box of Twinkies with so much interest than he was with his own teammate's face.

Steve feels like he just lost Tony all over again, and if he feels that way, he can only imagine how Natasha is feeling about this.

After Tony and Peter leave, the whole kitchen and dining room is quiet. Steve notices that no one bothers eating what's on their plate, and soon everyone retires back to their rooms without a word.

Natasha is the last to leave the kitchen and go to her room.

Natasha is the first to wake up and the leftovers in the fridge are in the trash.

Steve doesn't stop trying, he thinks Natasha hasn't either but hasn't seen her try again. He spots Tony leaving, all dressed up looking good. Tony always looks good, but he's really looking great. Dressed in a nice suit when Steve is talking to Sam. Steve wants to 'bump' into Tony, and kindly ask where he is going, but doesn't. When Tony is out of sight, Steve turns back to Sam, to resume wherever they left off at, but finds Sam staring at him with a look.

Steve doesn't know what it means.

It happens again. Steve attempts to corner Tony, but Friday, the sneaky AI, she seems all too pleased, doing anything to prevent Steve from even looking in Tony's direction. Steve is tired of doing this, he is tired of trying to gain Tony's attention, frustrated that the older man is being so difficult. This time, Steve doesn't bother bringing chocolate cake or coffee. He is all Captain America, banging a fist on the metal door so hard, he might've dented it. "Tony, I know you're in there! We need to settles this!" he continuously pummels the metal door and it goes on for hours. He won't stop until he sees the stupidly attractive bearded man, who is unwilling to make any compromises. Steve doesn't know what he's saying in those hours of hitting the doors, until he snaps and kicks the door, angrily saying, "I can do this all day," There is an enormous dent, and light from the seemingly impenetrable lab leaks through the crack of the door.

Steve Rogers flinches away because of that. He stares in disbelief. That phase itself was something he said times ago, and it was meaningless, but saying it now...it invites all sorts of bitterness, and anger, and hurt that isn't just directed to Tony.

He wants to sob because he is just looking for the familiarity of the home that Tony gave him when he joined the Avengers. It was so pure, and almost magical, but he left it for Bucky. Steve's knees give out and he finds himself a shaking mess at the floor. He gave up his home for Bucky, only to lose Bucky at the end when the other super soldier chose to go under, and to lose Tony at the end. Tony, the one who helped Steve, who eased Steve into the future, who created this family for him.

The doors never opens.

Tony goes missing days later.

No one knows how or why. Friday is seemingly dead, only answering questions that don't relate to her missing creator.

Peter has a look on his face that is something akin to loss and devastation.

Fury is shouting into their ears, "Ya'll lost him? How do you lose the smartest person in the world who happens to also have the largest personality?"

No one says anything.

Fury is well aware if the tension growing within the so-called 'Family'. Steve thinks that yelling is an outlet for Fury's frustrations because the Avengers aren't the only ones who Tony's refused to acknowledge these days. And he knows it because Fury had a hand at bringing everyone back.

It's only when Rhodey comes to the mansion, flanked by both T'Challa and Bruce, who causes Natasha to almost falter. It's when Steve sees Rhodey bearing that intimidating pissed-off look, Bruce's poker face, but a slight hint of green in his eyes, does Steve know that the real work is about to begin. He doesn't think that he'll ever get used to seeing Rhodey in a wheel chair.

When Rhodey wheels himself towards Tony's lab, probably to look for evidence, plans, Steve knows that Friday would let him in, Steve is unknowingly guarding it ever since Tony's disappearance. Sam is by his side, as always, ready to defend Steve, which he appreciates—he does—but...Steve feels like he needs to be alone, for this.

Sam is opening his mouth as Rhodey comes by, ready to say something, probably an apology. But Rhodey never looks his way, or Steve's. And he's glad that Rhodey won't speak to him because  if he does so happens to ever speak, Steve fears it'll be something scathing, something Tony's always wanted to say, and he doesn't need that.

Rhodey works like a soldier, despite his injury—he is still a soldier, Steve amends—working fast to find his lost best friend with Peter, T'Challa and Vision. He remembers Rhodey's harsh words, "There ain't no time for all this. You're either staying out the way, or prepare to get run over," Natasha tries to help, and it doesn't go unnoticed how Rhodey is sneering whenever she speaks. Steve and the rest are just in the way. Steve feels useless, eating, working out, and reading when he could be helping in search for Tony. Steve hates that he's stuck with his own mind, he doesn't talk to the others, it's just him. He hates thinking about _what could've been_ , hates that he chose between Tony and Bucky. Steve thinks that he and Tony were maybe developing something just before the incident in Lagos, just before Bucky was in trouble, and just before _the tape_.

Steve is wandering, aimlessly around the mansion, trying to find something to do, when he hears static in his coms. "Avengers!" Fury's voice is loud and in his ear. "We've spotted Stark."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will go back and fix any typos, once I get the chance to do so.

"We've spotted Stark."

Steve's stomach was in a coiled mess of tight knots, his body rigid and tense. And that was before Fury even said those words. He has to brace himself against a wall before he collapses to the ground.

Oh, God...Tony...he's alive, Steve thought, unable to swallow down the emotion building at his throat. Steve's voice is unready, and he just knows it's shaky, so he doesn't bother replying.

"Get your ass down to the conference room, now," Fury barked, and if Steve weren't Steve, if he hadn't spend years working with the super spy, he would've missed the way Fury's voice almost leaped with a sort of urgency that he's never heard of. Not even when the government dropped a nuke over New York during Loki's invasion. Not even when—Steve's heart clenched and he has to squeeze his eyes shut and cut his mind off from the thought. He'd rather not think about how beautiful and reckless Tony was, carrying that nuke into the wormhole...and how Steve told Natasha to close that said wormhole with Tony still in it.

No, he thought. He doesn't have time to dwell on the past. Steve straightened his back and took a deep breath. He needed to work on finding Tony.

When Steve arrived at the conference room, he found the whole team there, everyone suited up. Sam greets Steve with a nod. Natasha's staring at Steve for a second before her eyes dart over to a screen, calculating, as always. She ignores Bruce, who is standing awkwardly by himself, fumbling with his glasses. Steve thinks that Tony would not hesitate to pad across the room and join his friend, who is often left out because of his more reserved personality, that or Bruce just doesn't want anything to do with it.

It's obvious of the unsettled tension between Bruce and Natasha, even after Steve walked in on them arguing-whispering about why he's back, which Bruce had replied that he had only returned to find his friend, and that he'd rather focus on getting his friend back, and not on broken relationships that couldn't possibly work. Steve cleared his throat, and as quietly as he could, crept out of the room, ignoring their stares.

Steve would rather not listen to Clint, the archer spends a lot of time damning Tony's name, and Steve just doesn't want to hear it. His eyes sweep across the room for the rest of his team. Wanda is standing in front of a screen, shaking, and it wasn't good, according to the red swirls of magic circling her palm. Vision, who is by Spider-Man and Rhodey, looks torn between staying put and comforting Wanda. Whatever it is that enraged her, Steve has a bad feeling about it.

"Maximoff, get it together, or you're out," Fury snapped, his one eye bulging as he gives her the stink eye. "Whatever it is you got going on, fucking fix it!" Steve almost wants to chastise the older man for it, but like Clint, who is strangely overprotective of her, he doesn't say a thing. Maybe it's because it's Fury.

Wanda looks like a deer caught in headlights, she opens her mouth to say something but closes it and stays quiet. She takes a step back and away from the hologram she was blocking, allowing Steve to see what he was dealing with.

Iron Man.

Tony, his heart sings.

But it was so...alien.

The suit was different in almost every aspect, the posture, even the shape. Steve couldn't find a single thing that screamed, "TONY STARK". And that was just wrong. The body and the helmet of the suit was devoid of its usual ostentatious red and gold. Instead, the body was a shiny pale gold where the red should be, and where the bright yellow-y gold used to be is now this bright burgundy. The face plate was an eerie sky-blue, which hid all but two bright green-blue piercing eyes that don't even look human. Obviously, Tony's suits never looked human...but this wasn't Tony-human. Steve wondered why he even bothered, these things don't even make sense to him.

"Holy shit!" Spider-Man exclaims, rather loudly. Steve's just glad he's not the only one who thinks there's seriously something wrong with this picture.

Rhodey stares over at Fury with an accusing frown. "What are you going to do, Fury?" he demands.

Fury just sighs. "Colonel Rhodes," he begins but Rhodey isn't having it. His nostrils flare.

"No," he says with a certain finality. "Tony hasn't done anything wrong and isn't bothering anyone."

Before Steve can even think about saying a damn thing, Natasha steps in, Clint right besides her. "Stark is a missing Avenger."

Rhodey laughs, loud and humorless. "Oh, you know damn well he was resigning."

What. Steve's mind whirls at that. Tony was planning on retiring the Iron Man suit?

Steve can't process what's happening around him as he wraps his head around what Rhodey said. There is shouting and yelling. He can hear Wanda say something, and knowing her hatred towards Tony, it was most likely venomous, but he is too wounded to focus on anything but the recent news of Tony's planned retirement. Steve can't help but feel a twinge of bitterness and hurt. The Avengers without Iron Man? Captain America without Iron Man? Steve without Tony? He couldn't even contemplate the idea without visibly flinching, and he's certain Natasha noticed this. Just like he and Bucky were inseparable on both school yards and battlefield, he and Tony were inseparable as Avengers. They came together or just not at all, that was half the reason they were pardoned in the first place.

"So Stark is running away?" Wanda spat, glaring and challenging Rhodey, who just gives her an incredulous look. Rhodey just looks pretty much done with everyone and everything. Steve knows that that's when he should've said for Wanda to stop, when he saw Spider-Man's eyes narrow almost comically at her. The kid opened his mouth, the fabric of his mask stretching out, like he wants to say something and defend Tony's honor and speak his mind, but Vision places his hand over Spider-Man's shoulder and shakes his head, looking tired, despite he can't actually get tired. At least that's what Steve thinks. Fury and Rhodey share the same look, looking just about ready to send Wanda out and to her room, like she's a child.

"No, he's just tired of paying for your shit, Maximoff," Rhodey said, giving Wanda the most disgusted look Steve's seen from the man. Steve has questions on Rhodey's statement, feeling as if it has some sort of a double meaning that he can't understand. At least up until Rhodey says, "Get a job." he's looking around at everyone in the room, save for Vision and Peter. "All of y'all."

Wanda is silent. They all are. Because yeah, Tony funds everything, even today. He pays for their food, he supplies them with upgrades, clothes, even the T.V. in the living room. It's all Tony, and they never thanked him. At least not properly, Steve thought with a flooding sense of guilt and embarrassment. He's never seen Wanda thank Tony, nor Clint, or even Sam for the matter.

Steve decides that his first words to Tony will be "Thank You" they are ones he deserve. He can only hope the others feel the same way. But Steve is proven wrong when Clint just rolls his eyes and under his breath, he says, "Oh, please. It's his damn job."

Spider-Man is the first to react. It happens so fast and it doesn't help that Steve is kind of shocked that this cheery young kid has this unnatural sort of speed and power, but then he's reminded of the young man he met at the airport in Germany. The kid leaps up into the air, using his web-shooters, and lands a kick to Clint's face. Spider-Man has each foot flanked on Clint's sides, and he brings his fist up into the air, prepared to knock the living daylights out of Clint, when Rhodey's strangled voice calls out, "Peter, NO!" The fist is still in the air, and Clint's eyes are wide. "He's not worth it, son."

Spider-Man slumps back, and looks as if he's sighing. He hops of off the archer and sheepishly goes back to Rhodey's side. Steve is pretty certain that if he weren't wearing his mask, he'd be blushing from his unexpected outburst. "He had it coming, anyway," Peter mumbles to himself. Rhodey only nods, agreeing with the teenager.

Natasha and Wanda are helping Clint up, as he rubs at his sore face. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." he sends an angry look at the kid, brushing everything off as if he weren't just handed by a fifteen-year-old.

"Are you guys done arguing or are we going to find Stark?" Fury snaps, and looks to Steve, expectantly. "Captain Rogers."

"Avengers," Steve hears himself say, voice tired. "Assemble!"


End file.
